Sunday, January 4, 2015

Mother Tongue(s)

The words, their pronunciation, and the methods of combining them used and understood by a considerable group of people is one definition of language. From the French langue = tongue, and the Latin lingua = tongue, the word is derived. Over time, the manner of verbal expression and pronouncing words become fixed among ethic groups producing a distinct language. The Celtic tongues have their roots as follows:

For the genealogist, understanding these roots helps explain the variety of spellings and pronunciation which often are encountered. This is especially true when the English (Balto-Slavo-Germanic roots)
crosses the Welsh (Proto-Celtic). Here, the phonetics (pronouncing words) produce a confusing group of sounds. For me, the surname JONES is an example.

There is no "J" in the Welsh alphabet. Their sound "Si" is the closest match. In the Latin, the letter "I" represents the the sound for "J". Norman-French would use "Je" which was often written "Ie". The early record keepers were priest of the Church writing all kinds of word combinations from these groups of mixed languages. The earliest English records were written in French. The Church records were written in Latin. The Welsh language was mixed among the groups. What a deal! Sorting through the records of the day can be quite a challenge for the genealogist.

The derivation of the surname JONES is shown above. It was the transliteration of Welsh into Anglo-Saxon (English) that "phonetically" produced this surname.